CHAPTER 17 — THE COUNTERATTACK
Forty-eight hours.
That was all Mark Ellis had given us.
Forty-eight hours to save Daniel’s company.
Forty-eight hours to uncover every lie.
Forty-eight hours before the man who had destroyed our lives made his final move.
But something had changed.
For the first time in months, Daniel was no longer hiding.
He was no longer making excuses.
He was finally facing the damage he had created.
Not because I had forgiven him.
I hadn’t.
Not because everything between us was repaired.
It wasn’t.
But because Lily deserved two parents who stopped running from the truth.
The next morning, we met at Rachel’s office.
The same office where I had first sat four months earlier.
The day after discovering Daniel’s affair.
Back then, I had walked into that building alone.
Broken.
Pregnant.
Terrified.
Now I walked in carrying my daughter.
And the truth.
Rachel placed several files on the table.
“Here is what we know.”
Everyone focused.
“Mark Ellis created financial pressure inside Daniel’s company.”
She placed another document down.
“He moved money through fake vendors.”
Another file.
“He manipulated Daniel into signing agreements that would transfer control if certain conditions were met.”
Daniel nodded.
“And one of those conditions was losing my inheritance.”
“Yes.”
Rachel looked at him.
“Specifically, if you were legally removed as Lily’s father.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
The words still hurt.
Even though he knew the truth now.
I watched him carefully.
Because part of me wanted to hate him forever.
It would have been easier.
But seeing him realize he had almost lost his daughter because of his own choices was painful in a different way.
Rachel continued.
“But Mark made one mistake.”
Daniel looked up.
“What?”
“He believed the fake DNA report would be enough.”
She opened another folder.
“It wasn’t.”
Inside were copies of documents.
“The laboratory was fake.”
“The doctor signature was fake.”
“The registration numbers were fake.”
“Everything can be traced back.”
Daniel leaned forward.
“To Mark?”
Rachel shook her head.
“Not directly.”
His expression changed.
“Why?”
“Because Mark was careful.”
She placed another paper down.
“He used someone else.”
The room became quiet.
“Who?”
Rachel looked at the evidence.
“Chloe.”
Daniel’s face changed.
I noticed.
Even now, hearing her name affected him.
Not love anymore.
Pain.
Regret.
Maybe shame.
“What did she do?”
Rachel explained.
“She created the connection.”
“She introduced the fake report.”
“She convinced you to question the paternity.”
“But Mark controlled the bigger plan.”
Daniel looked away.
“So she was working with him.”
“Yes.”
The answer hurt him.
I could see it.
Because betrayal from a stranger was easier.
Betrayal from someone you trusted destroyed something deeper.
Rachel continued.
“But there is a problem.”
“What?”
“Chloe disappeared.”
Daniel immediately looked up.
“What?”
“She left her apartment last night.”
“Where did she go?”
“We don’t know.”
I felt uneasy.
Because people did not disappear unless they were afraid.
Or unless they were planning something.
Rachel looked at me.
“There is another issue.”
“What?”
“Your mother.”
My expression changed.
“What about her?”
“She received another payment.”
My heart sank.
“From who?”
Rachel looked at Daniel.
“Mark.”
Silence.
I slowly turned toward my mother.
She had not come to the meeting.
But I knew she would have to answer.
“What payment?”
Rachel opened a bank record.
“Five thousand dollars.”
My chest tightened.
“She told me she refused Chloe’s money.”
“She refused Chloe’s.”
Rachel paused.
“This came from one of Mark’s accounts.”
I closed my eyes.
Another secret.
Another betrayal.
Daniel looked at me.
“Jennifer…”
I shook my head.
“No.”
He stopped.
“I can’t do this again.”
Because that was the part nobody understood.
The hardest thing was not discovering one lie.
It was discovering that every person you trusted had pieces of the truth hidden away.
Rachel softened her voice.
“We need to know why.”
I nodded.
“Find out.”
That afternoon, we confronted my mother.
She cried before we even asked.
Because she knew.
She knew why we were there.
“You got money from him.”
Her face fell.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
She wiped her tears.
“Because he threatened me.”
Everyone became silent.
“What did he threaten?”
She looked at me.
“He said if I didn’t cooperate, he would expose something about your father.”
My father stepped forward.
“What?”
My mother looked at him.
“Your past.”
A strange silence followed.
My father’s expression changed.
“What did he find?”
My mother shook her head.
“I don’t know.”
But I could tell.
She knew more.
“Mom.”
She looked at me.
“I was trying to protect you.”
The words almost broke me.
“Please stop saying that.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Jennifer…”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“Everyone keeps using that sentence.”
“You protect me.”
“You save me.”
“You hide things from me.”
“But nobody asks what I want.”
My mother cried silently.
And for the first time, she understood.
Protection without honesty was another form of control.
Then my phone rang.
Rachel answered.
She listened.
Her face changed.
“What?”
Everyone looked at her.
She ended the call.
“We found Chloe.”
Daniel immediately stood.
“Where?”
Rachel hesitated.
“At a private clinic.”
My stomach tightened.
“Why?”
Rachel looked at me.
“Because she requested a medical procedure.”
Daniel frowned.
“What procedure?”
Rachel looked down.
“A paternity test.”
Silence.
Another test.
Another attempt to control the truth.
“But for who?”
Rachel looked at the report.
“She requested it for Lily.”
My heart stopped.
Daniel became pale.
“Why would she do that?”
Rachel looked serious.
“Because Chloe claims she has proof.”
“Proof of what?”
Rachel looked directly at me.
“She claims Lily’s biological father is not Daniel.”
Nobody spoke.
I felt anger rise inside me.
Not fear.
Not confusion.
Anger.
Because after everything…
After all the lies.
After all the manipulation.
Someone was still trying to use my daughter as a weapon.
I looked at Daniel.
And something inside me changed.
The old Jennifer would have collapsed.
The old Jennifer would have cried.
The old Jennifer would have wondered what she did wrong.
But that woman was gone.
I stood up.
“Take me to Chloe.”
Everyone looked surprised.
Rachel asked:
“Are you sure?”
I nodded.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
I looked at Lily.
Then back at them.
“Because this ends today.”
For months, everyone had made decisions about my life.
Daniel.
Chloe.
My mother.
Mark.
Everyone.
But nobody had asked me.
Now they would.
Because this was my daughter.
My truth.
May you like
And I was done waiting for other people to reveal it.
I was going to take it back myself.
